We are here with Speranza Conti, owner and vineyard of "LE COLLINE".
We take advantage of her kindness to get to know her better, asking her a few questions about her and her work, given that it is not at all frequent for a woman to personally carry out the activity of winemaker and owner of the company.
Good morning Speranza, and thank you for your availability
Good morning
You are the owner of LE COLLINE, but you are also the winemaker of the company, and therefore you take care of the work in the vineyard, the vinification and the marketing of the products, right?
Yes, in my company I have to take care of all these things.
From the manual and tiring work of growing vines and winemaking, to customer relations and marketing…
Yes, even if, of course, I do all this with the help of some people, and in particular of my family, especially in the vineyard, for the operations related to the cultivation and management of the vineyard, as well as the tiring operations of harvesting the grapes.
Sorry, but they told me that you are also a veterinary doctor, and that you also carry out this activity
It's true, I'm also a vet. I have been in this profession for a long time…
But how do you do it? Also because you have to reconcile all this with family duties, mother's etc...
Well, reconciling all these things is actually not very simple. To do that, you have to be someone who is passionate about the things he does, who wants to do them well, who appreciates them, who finds satisfaction in each of them. You must have this same attitude when you are a veterinarian and when you are a winemaker…
But then, taking care of animals and taking care of a vineyard basically means dealing with nature, right? and therefore there is something that unites my various activities.
I imagine, however, that passion and the desire to do well are particularly important, indeed decisive, in the activity of viticulture
Absolutely yes. This business was handed down to me from my parents. Since I was a child, I used to wander around the vineyard, among the rows, I watched my father prune, harvest, work tirelessly, and I tried to imitate what he did. And even then I rejoiced together with the others when the grapes were harvested and vinified, or when the wine was bottled… Certain things get inside you: childhood experiences orient your way of thinking, of your attitude towards things, towards work. And so they sow the great passions of the future.
What relationship do you have with the products you make? I mean: do you feel them truly yours, do you feel that they represent who you are?
In some way yes… because they are the result of my choices, and not just recent ones. Wine is the result of many previous decisions: those distant in time, on the vines to be planted; those closest to their management, for example pruning systems; and the very close ones, such as the choices of the exact moment of the harvest, made according to the level of maturation required by the particular type of wine to be made; and then it is certainly the result of the choices on the specific vinification technique and on that of aging.
Of course the wine represents the winemakers! Talk about them!
But are there differences in how you feel represented and receive satisfaction from one wine or the other? For example the Montepulciano or the Sangiovese you produce, or the Maceratino…
The more or less happy years undoubtedly determine the level of satisfaction and representativeness of your choices, which one wine or the other can give you. But we work to ensure that, for each vintage, we get the best.
I love all my wines, including those I produce with international vines, which have acclimatised well and have developed particular taste characteristics in the Marche and in the territory of my vineyard, at the foot of the Sibillini: characteristics that cannot be found elsewhere. Therefore they are wines from the Marche, as well as those I produce with native vines, Montepulciano, Maceratino and others.
The Maceratino! O Ribona! And here we are at territoriality par excellence, right?
Yes, Yes, Yes! I say yes three times, because the name Maceratino exactly and exclusively evokes my territory: not Marche in general, but precisely the restricted territory of the Macerata area that gave it its name. In short, he speaks of the gentle slopes under the Sibillini mountains, and of my vineyard. This to me means "Maceratino".
Its aromas, its flavour, even its color tell of the land where I was born and raised, of the past of this territory, of the peasant culture that has produced it since time immemorial, and of the place where I discovered my passion for this wine !
They say that Maceratino is a close relative of the more famous Verdicchio.
It is true?
Yes, recent genetic studies have confirmed this close relationship. And therefore they recognized the nobility of Maceratino as a great native vine.
I will not deny that this bodes well for the future, because it is only a matter of spreading knowledge about it, and it will be appreciated like its more famous relative.
But truly even now, when I meet people who love wine, perhaps at fairs or other meetings, there are many admirers of Maceratino, bewitched by its taste and its very strong territoriality, which few vines can boast as much. And we must not forget that interest in Maceratino brings with it that of our territory, its still little-known beauties... This pleases me so much, because the culture of wine must extend to that of the habitat in which production takes place , the special environment, the climate, the history and art of the area…
Well, this is genuine passion. And certainly well placed. My friends and I are also admirers of Maceratino, and we are rooting for it to acquire ever greater importance.
Thank you Speranza, for the work you do and for what resembles a mission, which you carry out with rare dedication, which we all appreciate.
I don't know, if you want to add something else…
I am a person who considers modesty a very important virtue. So I don't like to talk about myself as if I'm doing something extraordinary. Let's just say I love the things I do and hope to pass my passion on to others. How? Without rhetoric, letting the wines I produce speak for themselves. Nothing else.
If in the future we want to talk to you again, can we hear back?
Yes, as long as we talk less about me and more about my winery. Are you there?
Yes, absolutely! Thanks again Speranza…
Thanks to you!